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Canned foods are not processed at the same high temps as UHT, though they are far far less than optimal, enzymatically. The contents will spoil sooner in the can than in the tetra-pak (hence the reason UHT was developed). It's why your really not supposed to eat canned foods that greatly exceed their expiration dates. People do this of course, and many/most are fine, but some small percentage of them end up sick or even in the hospital every year, if the contents went bad enough &/or their immune systems are weakened, like the elderly, ill or the infirm.

I was reading #5 and realized that i have a few bags of organic unsweetend shredded coconut (nothing added).
Well, i did the math and i was surprised to find that it will actually be cheaper to make the milk (and extract just as much fat) if i use the shredded coconut method, thanx.

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I soak 2 cups of coconut overnight in 4 cups of filtered water. In the morning, I run my blender for a couple minutes, until it appears to be really blended.

I then pour into a strainer lined 1-quart pitcher (I use a paint strainer bag I got at the paint store. Cost an entire $1), pick up the strainer bag, and gently squeeze to get all the liquid out and into the pitcher (this part can be messy).

Wa la... I have about 3.5 cups of coconut milk! Shake well every time you pull it from the fridge.

If you want super thick, use more coconut/less water.

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That works. But sometimes I'm preparing food on the fly, hungry, so the boiled filtered water works for me. But yes, your method is definitely superior as it's so gentle. With some simple planning, it's easy to make a big batch on the weekend to store in the fridge, to last all week. Thanks for the info. Will soak some tonite, & make it this way tomorrow morning (small batch as I fly to Calif in 3 days.)

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When I tried making it the hot water method I was afraid my blender was going to burn up. Are you using a high speed blender or just a run of the mill blender? I'd love to make it regularly as it seems like a better choice and is way less expensive than canned but not if I burn out my blender. I was only processing a cup of coconut.

This boils down to personal choice, really. It's not anybody's business what you eat but your own. I do believe the coconut & almond milks found in the dairy section are frankenfood, but I choose to consume them anyway because they are low carb, and I need that right now to help manage my blood sugar while pregnant.

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When I tried making it the hot water method I was afraid my blender was going to burn up. Are you using a high speed blender or just a run of the mill blender? I'd love to make it regularly as it seems like a better choice and is way less expensive than canned but not if I burn out my blender. I was only processing a cup of coconut.

It's not top the line, but it is a high speed blender. I have gotten blenders to literally smoke, more than a few times, haha... But it's not the temperature of the water, its the thickness, the motor & whether the blades can engage all the material in the container without backing up. THAT backing up causes heat to build up, & it also strains lesser powered motors, which also adds heat & wears out motors.

Why not use the dual approach: Soak the coconut flakes or powder overnight in hot water. In the morning, when it's cooled but fully absorbed all the water it's ever going to, then blend it. In small batches if you're freaked out about burning out the family blender. I've owned maybe a dozen blenders in my lifetime. I have some kick ass strong ones in storage: an old but trusty VitaMix I bought at a yard sale, Cuisanarts, MagicBullets etc

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So, if a 250g bag of dried shredded coconut has about 170grams of fat, and i decide to make coconut milk out of it. Then how much of this fat could i possibly extract? with the "soak overnight" or "hot water" method. I guess theres no way of knowing... 50%? 75?.
I do drink ALOT of coconut milk, it would be beneficial to have some idea of how much fat i extracted from the shredded coconut.

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So, if a 250g bag of dried shredded coconut has about 170grams of fat, and i decide to make coconut milk out of it. Then how much of this fat could i possibly extract? with the "soak overnight" or "hot water" method. I guess theres no way of knowing... 50%? 75?.
I do drink ALOT of coconut milk, it would be beneficial to have some idea of how much fat i extracted from the shredded coconut.

You could always do side-by-side taste comparisons with different cans of coconut milk with varying levels of fat per cup...although I am not sure if that is too much money/effort on your part to do so.

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You could always do side-by-side taste comparisons with different cans of coconut milk with varying levels of fat per cup...although I am not sure if that is too much money/effort on your part to do so.

Yeah, i never thought of that. I do have a couple different brands sitting in the cupboard.

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I tried making coconut milk in my blender. I blended it for a long time, probably 3-4 minutes total (over several 30-second-or-so cycles). It had good flavor, but it had a very thin consistency compared to canned coconut milk, pretty much like cow's milk. Is this just because of the thickeners that canned varieties use, or do I need to use less water or something?

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Well, I still have issue about it. I mean, what actually coconut milk is?
If it is only a beverage, then ultimately some carbonates are involved as far as manufacturing is concerned.
Milks usually are plain. Kew personal trainer
need something more!